The winners of the ODA Awards 2021

ODA-Nettverk, the Nordic region’s leading voluntary network for women in the IT sector, annually selects Norway’s leading role models for gender equality in the technology industry. The prizes for 2021 were awarded on Inspirasjonsdagen on the 7th of May.

Letizia Jaccheri is this year’s ODA Awards Woman

Letizia Jaccheri is passionate about diversity and has worked systematically over many years to increase the share of women within the field of technology and science. She has influenced the Norwegian and the International field of research to take part in this important topic. She has started and is involved in an impressive number of initiatives to increase gender balance in technology, starting from middle school through to university, such as IDUN, WeLead, and ACM Women. She is even an author of a tech book for children and an initiator of Kodeløypa. Finally, she has played an active part in attracting 9 more female scientists to top management positions at NTNU. Letizia has over many years played an instrumental role in inspiring and attracting girls and women to choose a career in tech – and is a true role model.

Dagfinn Ringås is this years ODA Awards Man

Dagfinn Ringås has been an advocate for diversity for more than a decade. His efforts have contributed to long-term higher D&I focus and results in the organizations he has led, through demonstrating business value from diverse teams. As CEO of SYSCO, he has introduced clear strategic KPIs for diversity as well as an internal mentor program, leading to inspiring results; So far this year, women make up 60% of the new employees, and the share of women in top management increased from 0% to 43%. He is also an important external role model showcasing the importance of diversity through media articles, panel debates, and board positions, influencing other executives. Dagfinn is leading the change in modernizing and diversifying the Norwegian tech industry.

Accenture is this year’s ODA Awards Organization

Accenture AS has worked systematically to create a workplace where everyone is valued for their differences. Through regular D&I reviews, leadership development programs, and unconscious bias training of all employees, resulting in a rich cultural diversity Accenture has achieved a gender balance of 40% and more than 30% female representation on all levels of management. They have more than 100 certified Mental Health Allies, and they play a key role in the “network for LGBT+ in the workplace”. In addition to the internal focus, Accenture readily and frequently shares their work and learnings and is an important role model that inspires other organizations to create a more inclusive tech industry.

About the ODA Awards

In order to achieve ODA’s goal of 40 percent women in the technology industry, it is necessary for men and women to work together across age, background, and competence. To contribute to this goal, the ODA Awards is given in recognition of the purposeful work done by organizations and individuals to increase diversity in the technology industry.

All the winners have in common that they are good ambassadors for the values ​​of ODA: Inspiration, Bravery, Empowerment, and Passion.

The prize was first awarded in 2009 to Kjersti Wiklund and has since gone to inspiring women, men, and companies from the technology industry. For a complete overview of the previous winners, you can see an overview here.

About Inspirasjonsdagen

To promote diversity in the technology industry, ODA organizes Inspirasjonsdagen (ODA Inspiration Day) every year. This year the theme was «The Digital Divide», and the focus was on how the increased digitization also leads to an increased gap between those who are part of the digital journey – and those who are outside. The digital conference was filled with eye-opening reflections from both Norwegian and international profiles on how geography, culture, social differences, attitudes, and economics must be taken into account if one wants to include more in the digital society we live in.

New this year was that the entire conference was conducted in English, which meant that men and women across national borders had the opportunity to participate and be inspired.